THT Daily: Red Sox back in first
by Dave Studeman
June 05, 2008
Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Top Minor League Performances
You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld
 |
| The Mets have a bounce back in their step, as exhibited by Jose Reyes' and Luis Castillo's postgame celebration in yesterday's win over the Giants. (Icon/SMI) |
Rays placed first baseman
Carlos Pena on the 15-day diabled list with a fractured left index finger. A big loss. The Rays will go with a platoon of
Eric Hinske and
Willy Aybar at first for now. Hinske has been playing against righties anyway, so his value doesn't change. Aybar can start versus lefties. With Hinske moving to the infield, there will be plenty of at-bats available for
Gabe Gross in right.
Jonny Gomes could also benefit, but he'd have to get hot. Gross should have short-term value in AL-only leagues.
White Sox signed RHP
Esteban Loaiza to a one-year contract. Unless GM
Ken Williams knows something about one of his starters that we don't, the White Sox would hardly seem to need a long man. That's what Loaiza will be unless someone gets hurt, and if the White Sox were to lose a starter, they'd probably be better off going to
Lance Broadway. Loaiza was incredible for the White Sox in 2003, but he doesn't have the same stuff that he did then.
Yankees activated catcher
Jorge Posada from the disabled list. Posada is back a day earlier than expected, but he didn’t start last night’s game. He should be behind the plate on Thursday after missing five weeks with a strained right shoulder. Those unfortunate AL-only leaguers who have gone with
Jose Molina while Posada was out should be on the lookout for an alternative.
Jake Westbrook is scheduled to visit elbow specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles on Friday. It sounds ominous, and that's all the Indians are saying. Manager
Eric Wedge says the team already has "some information" on the elbow, but they want a second opinion from Yocum. "I don't think we're going to have a positive result from this," said general manager Mark Shapiro.
Derek Jeter tallied his 2,416th career hit on Wednesday night, moving him past
Mickey Mantle for third most in Yankees history. He's behind
Lou Gehrig, who finished with 2,721, and
Babe Ruth, who notched 2,518 (he had 342 before joining the Yanks). Not bad company.
Rick Ankiel has an infection in his right knee, and it's uncertain when he'll return to the lineup. It seemed odd that he would just go home for the night with a minor knee injury. This makes more sense. Ankiel scraped up the knee while making a catch Sunday and learned of the infection earlier today. He'll likely miss at least one more game on Thursday, so the Cards will probably give
Joe Mather another start.
Albert Pujols was out of the lineup for Wednesday's game because of his left calf injury. So, it was more than just the calf tightening up on him during the rain delay last night. "He felt it running the bases in the first at-bat [on Tuesday], so there was definitely a pinch," said manager Tony La Russa. "The best case would be two days, and he could play Friday. We'll see."
Noah Lowry still has tingling in his forearm nearly three months after surgery, and the Giants are concerned that he won't be able to return this season. "That’s questionable," manager
Bruce Bochy said Wednesday. "We don’t know if he will be back on the mound this year. It’s fair to say we’re getting to that point that it’s a fair question." Lowry underwent surgery in March after being diagnosed with exertional compartment syndrome in his left forearm. The hope was that he'd return just a month later, but he hasn't recovered as hoped.
Yesterday’s Results
Game recaps courtesy of
Craig Calcaterra
Marlins 6, Braves 4: As a Braves fan, I am devastated by the end of
John Smoltz's season and possibly his career. They say there are stages of grief. I may still technically be in denial, so take this for what it's worth: I'd much rather have had a surgery-needing John Smoltz pitching the ninth inning yesterday than
Manny Acosta (.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, blown save). But with Soriano and (maybe) Gonzales around, the bullpen will probably be OK. That is if Atlanta can find someone -- anyone -- who can pitch deep into a game for a change. The five guys that make up the rotation right now (Hudson, Glavine, Jurrjens, Reyes, Campillo) are averaging 5.2 innings a start, and that's just gonna kill the Braves' bullpen as they make their way through the hot Atlanta summer.
Padres 2, Cubs 1:
Greg Maddux isn't Greg Maddux anymore, but last night against his old team he did what your ex-girlfriend does when she knows she's going to be at the same party as you. No, he didn't exactly wear a slutty dress and hang on your friends while making taunting eye-contact with Chicago, but 7 innings of one run ball is the sort of thing that makes someone have to try hard to remember why they dumped somebody in the first place. After the game you can imagine all of the Cubs' buddies saying "man, Greg sure looked good tonight," to which the Cubs could only reply "I KNOW, now will you shut up about it?" The Cubs' current rotation could only stand around feeling awkward and vaguely jealous.
Mets 5, Giants 3: The Giants went into this season thinking that Lincecum and Cain could carry them to respectability. They were half right. Cain goes five, gives up five, walks four and finds himself with an ERA of 4.67. In other news, reports of
Jose Reyes' death have been greatly exaggerated (3-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, SB). If he can rip off a stretch of games like that for a week or two everyone will forget how bad things got in May.
A's 10, Tigers 2: Detroit was actually in this one until the seventh when
Casey Fossum and
Freddy Dolsi combined for 0.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER and a walk. In other news, the
1000-run Tigers are on pace for 757.
Angels 5, Mariners 4: It wasn't pretty -- 6 IP, 10 H, and a walk -- but
Jered Weaver got the job done. Of course you can get away with a lot against the Mariners, who stranded runners like the S.S. Minnow. To tell you how bad it's been for
Richie Sexson, the big man goes 1-4 with no walks and actually
raises his batting average and OBP.
Rockies 2, Dodgers 1: The Dodgers are stymied by Rockies' pitching for the second night in a row as
Aaron Cook goes eight, giving up only a single run on six hits. Big Blue has only scored 28 runs in their last ten games, 17 of which came in two games.
Brewers 10, Diamondbacks 1: That was a whuppin'. It's only eight games, but so far
Russell Branyan is hitting .321/.441/.821. And guess what? Milwaukee has won six of those games, BILL HALL. Overall they've won six in a row and nine of ten. The Cubs and any other NL team that thinks they're getting the wild card had best pay attention.
Reds 2, Phillies 0:
Brett Myers was good (7.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER), but he walked six guys, one of whom came around to score on the only hit he allowed. Ed Volquez was better (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 8K).
Joey Votto would like to remind you that
Jay Bruce isn't the only young slugger of note on the Reds (2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB).
Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1:
Mike Mussina (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER) made his Major League debut before Joba started kindergarten, but even then Chamberlain was hyped more.
Red Sox 5, Rays 1: Order restored in the AL East, as the Sox regain first place. I know I look at Rays' box scores every day, but for some reason it seems like
Edwin Jackson is always listed as the starter. I haven't checked, but how many games has pitched this year? 52? 53?
Pirates 5, Astros 2: The hitting hero for Pittsburgh was backup catcher
Raul Chavez, who drove in three. Raul was called up to fill in for the injured
Ryan Doumit. What made him ready for the callup? "I worked hard in Indianapolis with (hitting coach
Hensley Meulens)," he said. That's former Columbus Clipper Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens to you and me. Well, maybe to just me.
Twins 7, Orioles 5: Two homers in three games for
Joe Mauer. Of course, that's two homers in 53 games for him too, so let's not get too excited.
Indians 15, Rangers 9: We're going to need a war crimes tribunal or a truth and reconciliation committee or something by the time this Indians-Rangers series is over, because the crimes against baseball which have occurred in Arlington for the past three nights have been nothing short of atrocious. 65 runs have been scored in three games. Can't we send a peacekeeping force in to stop the fourth?
White Sox 6, Royals 4: The AP game story noted that "After Olivo was hit in the side by a Dotel pitch in the 13th, he slammed his bat to the ground and was escorted to first base by coach
Rusty Kuntz and Hillman." That had nothing to do with the game outcome. The writer just wanted to say "Rusty Kuntz."
Cardinals at Nationals: Postponed. 100% true story, I swear: I have a friend who lives in the DC suburbs. Yesterday, as a vicious and, sadly, deadly storm rushed through the area, a tree fell on her house, slamming through the roof in her bedroom. The insurance company sends a crew out, supposedly to remove the tree and put a tarp over the hole in the roof until it can be repaired. The crew gets out there, gives the place a general once-over and says "OK, we'll be back to start repairs tomorrow." In other words, it's going to take an unacceptably long time to get the tarp on the place. I told her
she should call Kyle Lohse to jaw at them about it, but she didn't find this funny.
You can download a
compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
| First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports: |
| {embed="pageblocks/FirstInning_Team_Lookup"} |
Today’s Games
National League
---------------
Cincinnati Reds at Philadelphia Phillies, 1:05 PM
(R) Homer Bailey (0-0) vs. (L) Cole Hamels (5-4)
St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals, 1:10 PM
(R) Todd Wellemeyer (6-1) vs. (L) John Lannan (4-5)
Houston Astros at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM
(R) Brandon Backe (4-6) vs. (L) Paul Maholm (3-5)
St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM
(R) Mike Parisi (0-2) vs. (R) Tim Redding (6-3)
Florida Marlins at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 PM
(R) Ricky Nolasco (5-3) vs. (R) Jair Jurrjens (5-3)
New York Mets at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM
(R) Mike Pelfrey (2-6) vs. (R) Josh Banks (2-0)
Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM
(R) Ryan Dempster (7-2) vs. (R) Chad Billingsley (4-6)
American League
---------------
Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees, 1:05 PM
(R) Dustin McGowan (4-4) vs. (R) Chien-Ming Wang (6-2)
Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins, 1:10 PM
(L) Garrett Olson (4-1) vs. (R) Scott Baker (2-0)
Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox, 6:05 PM
(R) James Shields (4-3) vs. (L) Jon Lester (3-3)
Cleveland Indians at Texas Rangers, 8:05 PM
(L) C.C. Sabathia (3-7) vs. (R) Kevin Millwood (3-3)
Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM
(R) Gil Meche (3-7) vs. (R) Jose Contreras (5-3)
Standings
The graphics next to each team are called "sparklines.” They depict each team’s performance over the last month. Each "up" bar is a victory and a "down" bar is a loss. There are horizontal lines for home games and red bars represent games decided by two runs or less. "PWins" is short for Projected Wins, based on each team’s Run Differential, and is often a better measure of a team’s true strength. Other team graphs and stats can be found on
our Team Page.
American League East Pwins Diff
BOS 37 25 .597 0.0 36 1 
TB 35 24 .593 0.5 32 3 
TOR 32 29 .525 4.5 34 -2 
NYA 29 30 .492 6.5 28 1 
BAL 28 30 .483 7.0 28 0 
American League Central
CHA 32 26 .552 0.0 34 -2 
MIN 31 28 .525 1.5 29 2 
CLE 27 32 .458 5.5 31 -4 
DET 24 35 .407 8.5 27 -3 
KC 23 36 .390 9.5 23 0 
American League West
LAA 37 24 .607 0.0 31 6 
OAK 33 27 .550 3.5 35 -2 
TEX 30 31 .492 7.0 29 1 
SEA 21 39 .350 15.5 24 -3 
National League East Pwins Diff
PHI 35 26 .574 0.0 37 -2 
FLA 32 26 .552 1.5 29 3 
NYN 30 28 .517 3.5 30 0 
ATL 31 29 .517 3.5 35 -4 
WAS 24 35 .407 10.0 23 1 
National League Central
CHN 38 22 .633 0.0 39 -1 
STL 35 25 .583 3.0 33 2 
MIL 32 28 .533 6.0 30 2 
HOU 31 29 .517 7.0 29 2 
CIN 29 31 .483 9.0 28 1 
PIT 28 31 .475 9.5 27 1 
National League West
ARI 32 28 .533 0.0 34 -2 
LAN 28 31 .475 3.5 30 -2 
SF 25 35 .417 7.0 25 0 
SD 24 37 .393 8.5 24 0 
COL 22 38 .367 10.0 23 -1 
Game of the Day
White Sox 6, Royals 4 - FINAL
KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf-rf 7 0 2 2 0 0 1 .299
M Grudzielanek 2b 7 0 2 0 0 0 1 .295
A Gordon 3b 7 0 0 0 0 3 3 .271
J Guillen lf 6 0 2 0 0 2 1 .253
M Olivo dh 6 1 2 1 0 1 3 .295
M Teahen rf-1b 5 1 1 1 1 1 3 .254
J Buck c 4 1 1 0 2 1 3 .258
R Gload 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .248
va-A Callaspo ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .284
J Gathright pr-cf 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .250
E German ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
T Pena ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .156
Totals 52 4 11 4 3 9 16 ###
CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
O Cabrera ss 7 0 2 0 0 0 2 .242
A Pierzynski c 7 0 1 0 0 0 5 .292
C Quentin lf 6 1 1 0 1 1 0 .291
P Konerko 1b 5 2 1 2 2 0 2 .202
J Thome dh 6 1 1 2 0 2 1 .206
J Dye rf 6 0 1 0 0 1 1 .282
N Swisher cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .203
B Anderson cf 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .243
J Crede 3b 3 1 2 2 2 0 0 .271
P Ozuna 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .244
A Ramirez 2b 4 0 0 0 2 1 2 .264
Totals 51 6 11 6 7 5 15 ###
----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 010 100 002 000 000 -- 4 11 1
CHI WHITE SOX - 000 211 000 000 002 -- 6 11 0
No outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
va-singled to right for R Gload in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - D DeJesus (6, J Danks); J Crede (11, L Hochevar); B Anderson (7,
J Soria); J Dye (11, Y Yabuta). HR - M Olivo (7, 2nd inning off J Danks 0 on, 0
Out), M Teahen (5, 4th inning off J Danks 0 on, 2 Out), J Thome (11, 4th inning
off L Hochevar 1 on, 1 Out), J Crede (10, 5th inning off L Hochevar 0 on, 0
Out), P Konerko (7, 15th inning off J Gobble 1 on, 0 Out). S - E German , J
Gathright. RBI - M Olivo (23), M Teahen (19), D DeJesus 2 (25), J Thome 2 (30),
J Crede 2 (31), P Konerko 2 (26). 2-out RBI - M Teahen, J Crede. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - M Olivo 1, J Guillen 1, J Buck 2, D DeJesus 1, M
Teahen 1, P Konerko 2, A Pierzynski 2, B Anderson 1. GIDP - R Gload. Team LOB -
KANSAS CITY 10, CHI WHITE SOX 10. BASERUNNING: SB - J Guillen (1, 2nd base off
O Dotel/A Pierzynski). CS - C Quentin (3, 2nd base by J Soria). Picked Off - D
DeJesus (1st base, B Jenks). FIELDING: E - E German (2, ground ball). Outfield
assists - J Gathright (B Anderson at 3rd base). DP: (J Crede-A Ramirez-P
Konerko).
KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
L Hochevar 5 2/3 5 4 4 5 2 2 5.13
R Mahay 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.30
B Tomko 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.21
R Ramirez 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.96
J Soria 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 1.07
Y Yabuta 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 5.04
J Gobble (L, 0-1) 0 1 2 2 1 0 1 6.19
CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
J Danks 5 2/3 6 2 2 2 1 2 2.88
N Masset (H, 1) 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.33
M Thornton (H, 6) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.32
S Linebrink (H, 14) 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 1.44
B Jenks (B, 2) 2 3 2 2 0 2 0 2.13
B Logan 2 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.05
O Dotel (W, 3-2) 2 2/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 2.93
J Gobble pitched to 2 batters in the 15th.
HBP - M Olivo (by O Dotel); J Guillen (by O Dotel). Pitches-strikes: L
Hochevar 108-64; R Mahay 24-15; B Tomko 12-7; R Ramirez 22-14; J Soria 31-18; Y
Yabuta 28-19; J Gobble 7-3; J Danks 96-55; N Masset 5-3; M Thornton 8-6; S
Linebrink 20-13; B Jenks 25-20; B Logan 18-14; O Dotel 34-20. Ground balls-fly
balls: L Hochevar 7-7; R Mahay 0-4; B Tomko 1-1; R Ramirez 4-2; J Soria 1-3; Y
Yabuta 3-1; J Gobble 0-0; J Danks 10-6; N Masset 0-0; M Thornton 2-0; S
Linebrink 1-0; B Jenks 3-0; B Logan 6-0; O Dotel 4-3. Batters faced: L Hochevar
27; R Mahay 5; B Tomko 3; R Ramirez 6; J Soria 7; Y Yabuta 8; J Gobble 2; J
Danks 24; N Masset 1; M Thornton 3; S Linebrink 5; B Jenks 8; B Logan 7; O
Dotel 11. UMPIRES: HP--Bill Miller. 1B--Chris Tiller. 2B--Gary Darling.
3B--Jerry Meals. T--4:23. Att--23,515. Weather: 63 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, left to right.
The following graph tracks the game's
Win Probability, courtesy of
Fan Graphs. You can also view live WPA graphs at Fangraphs during any ballgame all season long.
Yesterday’s Home Runs
The following stats are provided by
Hit Tracker, which logs the projected “true” distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its "standard" distance, which is corrected for weather conditions. Each homer is also categorized into one of three types: Just Enough (JE) for homers that cleared the fence by ten feet or less, Plenty (PL) for those that were sure home runs but not “blasts,” and No Doubt (ND) for true “blasts”—homers that cleared the fence by at least 20 feet and landed at least 50 feet beyond the fence.
Hitter Team Pitcher Team True Stnd. # Type
Jeff Baker COL Clayton Kershaw LAD 419 420 1 PL
Wilson Betemit NYY Jesse Litsch TOR 372 379 2 PL
Milton Bradley TEX Cliff Lee CLE 399 393 12 PL
Russell Branyan MIL Edgar Gonzalez ARI 410 406 4 JE
Travis Buck OAK Nate Robertson DET 398 396 2 PL
Joe Crede CWS Luke Hochevar KC 362 371 10 PL
David Dellucci CLE Max Ramirez TEX 402 400 7 PL
Scott Hairston SD Ted Lilly CHC 364 351 8 PL
Corey Hart MIL Edgar Gonzalez ARI 249 248 7 WS
Paul Konerko CWS Jimmy Gobble KC 386 397 7 ND
Jose Lopez SEA Jered Weaver LAA 413 411 5 PL
Joe Mauer MIN Jamie Walker BAL 367 378 2 PL
Kevin Millar BAL Glen Perkins MIN 0 0 10 0
Melvin Mora BAL Glen Perkins MIN 374 369 9 JE
Miguel Olivo KC John Danks CWS 406 415 7 ND
Mike Rabelo FLA Manny Acosta ATL 414 383 3 JE/L
Hanley Ramirez FLA Tom Glavine ATL 448 401 11 PL
Hanley Ramirez FLA Manny Acosta ATL 422 386 10 PL/L
Jose Reyes NYM Matt Cain SF 402 410 8 PL
Grady Sizemore CLE Sidney Ponson TEX 386 381 12 PL
Mark Teahen KC John Danks CWS 413 414 5 PL
Jim Thome CWS Luke Hochevar KC 465 462 11 ND
Ty Wigginton HOU Zach Duke PIT 404 376 3 PL/L
Top Minor League Games
The following list, provided by
First Inning, includes the top minor league batting (based on Runs Created) and pitching (based on Game Score) performances from yesterday, with a focus on each team’s top prospects.
ORG LVL PLAYER AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO Notes
OAK AA Jesus Guzman...... 5 4 1 0 1 0 0 3 LD
OAK A+ Chris Carter...... 4 2 0 0 2 1 2 4 RBI
OAK AA Justin Sellers.... 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 3 R
ATL AAA Scott Thorman..... 5 2 0 0 2 0 2
SF A Nicholas Noonan... 3 3 2 0 0 1 0
PIT A+ Jamie Romak....... 4 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 R
BAL AAA Michael Costanzo.. 4 3 0 0 1 1 0
CIN AAA Adam Rosales...... 4 3 1 1 0 0 0
CLE AA Trevor Crowe...... 5 2 2 0 0 1 1
DET AA Wilkin Ramirez.... 3 2 2 0 0 1 1
ATL A+ Tyler Flowers..... 2 2 1 0 0 2 0
TB AAA Reid Brignac...... 4 2 2 0 0 0 1
ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes
KC AA Blake Wood........ 9 3 0 0 10 0 0
OAK A+ Trevor Cahill..... 6 4 1 1 12 1 0
TEX A+ Kasey Kiker....... 7 3 0 0 6 1 0
OAK AA Vincent Mazzaro... 8 2 1 1 6 3 0
MIN AAA Brian Duensing.... 8 4 0 0 3 0 0
NYY AA George Kontos..... 7 3 1 1 7 2 1
PIT A+ Daniel Moskos..... 6 3 0 0 5 2 0
STL AA Tyler Herron...... 7 2 0 0 3 2 0
NYM AA Bobby Parnell..... 6 6 1 1 5 1 0 11 GB
DET A Jonathan Kibler... 6 5 3 2 4 1 0
ARI AA Matthew Torra..... 8 7 3 1 5 1 1 15 GB
ATL A Cole Rohrbough.... 6 4 1 0 5 3 0
Access THT’s stats here…
{embed="content/2005stable"}
Dave was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Comments about this article can be sent to him through the miracle of e-mail.
<<
Return to Article